Team USA takes home silver at the U18 WC, falls 6-4 to Sweden in the final – The Rink Live
LANDSHUT, Germany – After a dominant win against the Czech Republic in the semifinals, Team USA had set its sights on gold at the 2022 IIHF U18 World Championships for men. The USA had to settle for silver after a 6-4 loss against Sweden in the final on Sunday.
After not placing in the tournament last year, and as the event was canceled in 2020, Team USA took its first top three place since the bronze medal in 2019. Sweden has now won two of the last three U18 world titles for men and taken medal in the last four tournaments.
Team USA looked sharp at the start of the championship match, with Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass / Boston College) making 2:24 into the match. The Swedes responded halfway into the first with two quick goals to take their first lead in the match, then the United States equalized to two on a goal from Frank Nazar (Mt. Clemens, Mich./Michigan) before the first break.
The second period offered penalty problems for Team USA, where Sweden scored two powerplay goals. Rutger McGroarty (Lincoln, Neb./Michigan) scored late in the period to reduce the Swedish lead to one, but the second period ended with the Americans still under, 4-3.
The third period began with plenty of opportunities for Team USA, including two consecutive powerplay chances, but they could not take advantage of either. Sweden added an insurance goal, the final match winner, just before halfway through the third to extend their lead to 5-3. McGroarty added his second for the night for the USA, but that was not enough as Sweden added an empty net player to seal the gold medal with a 6-4 victory.
Sweden was the only country to score more than three goals against the Americans throughout the tournament. The Swedish goalkeeper Hugo Havelid played an outstanding match, and stopped 47 of 51 shots he encountered in the net to help lead the Swedes to victory despite the USA ending up over 51 to 15 in the last match.
Sunday’s matchup between the USA and Sweden was the fourth time the two countries met in a U18 championship match for men (2010-12) and was the first win for Sweden. The Swedes got their second tournament crown ever and second in the last three competitions. Team USA won the silver medal for the fifth time. Finland took home the bronze medal for the fifth time after defeating the Czech Republic 4-1 on Sunday.
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